Steam-boiler-tube cleaner.



PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

D. F. TABER. STEAM BOILER TUBE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23,1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

1 f @w 1 Q Q WW? J K c QNHUJC j PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

D. F. TABBR.

STEAM BOILER TUBE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED 111N323, 1906.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

DAVID F. TABER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-BOILER-TUBE CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed June 23. 1906. Serial No. 323,171.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID F. TABER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Boiler-Tube Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate to the class of devices known as blowers for injecting steam into and through boiler-tubes for the purpose of dislodging and removing soot and other solid products of combustion therefrom, and more especially to tube-cleaning blowers to be installed in the rear walls of return tubular-boiler furnaces, substantially as set forth in my concurrent application, Serial No. 319,050, filed May 28, 1906, in which the distinguishing feature is the use of an automatically rotatable and retractible steam-nozzle. As set forth in said concurrent application, prior thereto steal-n-boilertube cleaners were onlv a plicable to returntube-boiler furnaces the liack walls of which were accessible from the rear. In other words, there had to be sufficient space behind the furnace in which to situate and actuate the means, as a crank, by which the steamnozzle was rotated. This dilliculty I obviate in said prior application by rendering the nozzle automatically rotatable and feeding steam thereto from the side of the boiler-furnaces, so that the, blower can be applied to the rear wall of a furnace even though the back thereof abuts against a partition, wall, or other obstruction.

The object of my present invention is in a similar manner to afford a comparatively simple inexpensive steam-blower which may in like manner be embedded in the rear wall of a return-tube-boiler furnace so situated as to be inaccessible from the rear, which blower may be positively operated manually from the side of the furnace in such manner that the position or speed of rotation of the steaminjecting nozzle may be effectually regulated and controlled or varied to suit requirements of use. Thus the injected steam may be directed temporarily against a certain section axial extension or spindle on the nozzle in such manner as to'be rotatable therewith while admitting of the longitudinal movement of the said spindle and steam-nozzle within its casing, said feathered gear being in turn actuated by a bevel-gear on the inner end of a shaft extending through the steamsupply pi e, substantially as hereinafter set forth, and secondarily, in certain other features in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed specifically.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a portion of the rear of a return-tube boiler and furnace to which my tube-cleaning blower is applied. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken upon plane of line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of my improved blower, taken upon plane of line 3 3, Fig. 1, partly broken away and upon a larger scale, the nozzle being shown in its retracted position. Fig. 4 is a like view, the nozzle being shown as advanced under steam-pressure. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the nozzle; Fig. 6, a central longitudinal section through the casing; Fig. .7, a. transverse section taken upon plane of line 7 7, Fig. 6,and upon astill larger scale. Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively rear and front elevations of the nozzle upon the same scale as Fig. 7. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively front and rear elevations, upon the same scale, of the nozzle-gear.

A represents the rear end of a return-flue boiler of any desired type or construction, and B the rear wall of the furnace inclosing the end of the boiler and the rear extension of the combustion-chamber C.

Embedded in the rear wall B, with its longitudinal axis by reference practically or substantially coincident with the center of the area occupied by the boilertubes to be cleaned, is the casing D, consisting of a cylindrical front portion (1 and a convergent or tapering rear portion d, inLo which latter opens a lateral'port (1 said port communicating through a pipe or conduit E with a steam-supplypipe F through the medium of the head or elbow f and couplingf the steamsupply pipe F being proyided with a valve The dpipe E, supplying steam through the port 2 to the shel or casing D, is preferably inelined downward from said shell D, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the side walls of the rear portioncl of the casing D are tapered or inclined to facilitate the drawing off of water of condensation into and through the conduit E and to the head or elbow f, from which it may be drawn oil through a petcock f The recess 1) in the rear wall B, in which the shell I) is embedded, is preferably longer than said shell by approximately the extent of protrusion of the nozzle N beyond the shell D when the nozzle is advanced under the pressure of the steam, so that the head or face a of the nozzle N will be nearly, but not %L1lt6, flush with the inner surface of the wall when the nozzle is in use, the object being to advance the nozzle N sufficiently to give free and independent clearance to the jets of steam issuing from the nozzle without exposing the latter to direct contact with the incandescent gases within the combustionchamber C.

At the inner, end of the casing D is an annular shoulder (1?, consisting of a ring screwed or otherwise rigidly attached to said casing after the nozzle N has been placed within the said casing. The external diameter of the main or cylindrical portion a of the nozzle N is of a diameter but slightly less than the inner diameter of the ring or annular shoulder (i in the casing I), so as to fit snugly therein, and the rear portion of the nozzle N is formed with a corresponding annular shoulder 41?, fitting snugly within the cylindrical portion of the casing D. Between these two shoulders d and n (or their equivalent, for it is obvious that the shoulders need not ne ces-- sarily extend continuously in a complete'circle, but may each be subdivided into a series of bearin s with like result) is interposed a coiled and compressed spring S, which tends constantly to hold the inner end of the nozzle against the annular shoulder or seat (1* in the casing D, which is the normal position of the nozzle when not in actual use. It will be seen that in this normal position the nozzle N is entirely within the casing D.

Made integral with the nozzle N is an axial spindle or stem n3, connected with its inner end by radial arms n, suliicient in number to support the spindle n rigidly without materially obstructing the admission of steam to the chamber 11, within the nozzle N, the outer or front end of which chamber -n is closed by the relatively thick head n. Through this head n extend a series of steam-passages n, all but the central one of which converge inwardly toward the longitudinal axis of the nozzle, so as to deflect the steam escaping from the nozzle N over a relatively wide area and inject the steam into the various tubes a of the boiler A, the said passages '11 in the nozzle-head n being sufficient in number and so arranged, as to meet the requirements of the class and size of boiler to which the blower is to be applied.

The spindle 9?? passes through a centraliz- 65. ing and supporting bearing (i connected eaasae with the casing D by radial arms (1, said arms and bearings being made rigid and integral with said casing. Said spindle a is formed with a longitudinal groove n for the reception of and engagement with a tongue g on the rotatable gear G, so that the spindle and nozzle will rotate with said gear while free to move longitudinally with relation to the casing. This spindle gear G is held thereon and against the bearing (i by reason of its engagement with a driving-gear h upon the inner end of the driving-shaft H, which extends through the conduit E and is supported at the inner end thereof by a hearing 0, which is centralized and supported by the arms e, said arms and bearing being integral with the conduit E. The outer end of the driving-shaft ll passes through a stulling-box f on the head or elbow f and has attached to it a wheel-crank h or other mechanical expedient by which the shaft may be rotated.

In use steam being admitted through the valve passes through the coupling-pipef, elbow f, conduit E, and into the casing D, where it forces the nozzle toprotrude, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the steam being finally ejected through the passages n across the combustion-chamber C into and through the boiler-tubes a, all of which-are reached and blown in this manner by reason of the rotation of the nozzle,which is effected by hand through the medium of meshing gears G h, shaft H, and crank h.

It is to be understood that any well-known or desired mechanical expedient may be resorted to for the purpose of moving the spindle-gear thereon in such manner that the spindle while rotating with said gearing shall be free to move longitudinally through the same with like result, and I do not, therefore, confine-myself in this respect to the particular tongue-and-groove arrangement herein shown.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character designated, the combination with the inclosing shell and means for supplying steam under pressure thereto, of a longitudinally-movable nozzle, a spiral spring surrounding said nozzle and interposed between it and the inclosing shell, one end of said spring resting against a shoulder on the shell and the other against a shoulder on the nozzle, and means for positively rotating the nozzle on its longitudinal axis, for the purpose described.

2. In a device of the character designated, the combination with the inclosing shell and means for supplying steam thereto, of a nozzle having an axial spindle, a gear mounted thereon by means which admit of the longitudinal movement of the spindle while in-.

suring its rotation with the gear, a drivinggear meshing with said spindle-gear, means for rotating said driving-gear, and a spring surrounding said nozzle and interposed between it and the int'losing shell, one end of said spring resting against a shoulder on the shell and the other against a shoulder on the nozzle, for the purpose described.

3. in a device of the character designated, the combination of an inclosing shell, means for supplying steam under pressure thereto, a nozzle having a spindle formed with a longitudinal groove, a gear on saidspindle formed with a tongue tit ting said longitudinal groove, a. driving-gear meshing with said gear on the nozzlespindle, means for rotating said driving-gear, and a spring interposed between said shell and said nozzle, for the purpose described.

4. The combination with the inclosing shell and means for supplying steam under pressure thereto, of a nozzle having an axial spindle, a gear mounted thereon by means which admit of the longitudinal movement of the spindle while insuring its rotation with the gear, a driving-gear meshing with said spindle-gear, means for rotating said driving-gear, and a spring interposed between said shell and said nozzle, for the pupose described.

5. The combination with a return-tube boiler and furnace of a nozzle-inclosing shell embodied in the rear wall of the boilerfurnaee in a recess opening into the combustionehamber, means for supplying steam under pressure to said inc-losing shell, a longitudinally-movable nozzle in said shell, a spring interposed between said nozzle and said shell, an axial spindle on said nozzle, a

' gear on said spindle mounted thereon so as to rotate therewith while admitting of the longitudinal movement of the nozzle and spindle, a driving-gear meshing with said spindlegear, and means for rotating said drivinggear, for the purpose described.

.6. The combination with a return-tube boiler and furnace, of a nozzle-inclosing shell embedded in the rear wall of the boiler-furnace in a recess opening into the combustionchamber, a conduit communicating with said shell and extending therefrom through the rear wall of the furnace to the side thereof, means for supplying steam under pressure to said conduit, a longitudinally-movable nozzle in said shell, a spring interposed between said nozzle and said shell, an axial spindle on said nozzle, a gear on said spindle mounted thereon so as to rotate therewith while admitting of the longitudinal movement of the nozzle and spindle, a drivinggear meshing with said spindle-gear and mounted upon a shaft eXtending through said steam-conduit in the rear wall of the furnace, said shaft, and external means for rotating said shaft manually, for the purpose described.

DAV ID F. TABER. Witnesses:

D. W. GARDNER, GEO. WM. MIAT'I. 

